Grain-separator.



No. 808,557. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905. L. H. LIVINGSTON.

GRAIN SBPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1904.

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@Wto/c Strom/leg 10.808,557. PATENTBD 11110.26, 1905. L. H, LIVINGSTON.

GRAIN SEPARATOR..

APBLIOATIONPLLED MAY 7, 1904.

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LEI/VIS H. LIVINGSTON, OF HENNESSEY, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. M. SASHER, OF WICHITA, KANSAS.

GRAIN-SEPARATQR.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application iiled May '7, 1904. Serial No. 206,926.

To all whom, t "o1/ay concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwrs H. LIVINGSTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hennessey, in the county of Kingfisher and Territory of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Grain-Separator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of separators set forth in a patent granted to me on November 11, 1902, and numbered 713,229.

The object is to provide means which will effect a more thorough agitation and a more rapid passage of the straw therethrough, at the same time materially reducing the chance of clogging or overburdening such mechanism.

A further and very important object is to provide a novel and simple construction which will permit the escape of grain freed from the straw in the fan-casing independent of the discharge of said straw, so that a more complete separation is effected prior to the passage of the straw to the carrier.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein# Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale and on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the fan-casing.

Similar reference-numerals indicate corre- .sponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The separator-casing is designated generally by the reference-numeral 6. Within the front portion of the same is arranged the usual tlireshing-cylinder 7 and concave 8, coactiiig therewith. From the rear end of the concave extends an upwardly-inclined grate 9, that terminates at a concave separatorscreen 10, mounted transversely within the casing 6 in rear of the threshing-cylinder 7. This grate terminates short of the side walls of the casing 6 and is provided at its rearr end with a vertical perforate partition 11, connected with a downwardly and rearwardly inclined guard-board 12, that is secured along its upper edge to the deck of the casing. The deck, directly over the separatorscreen 10, is preferably arched, as shown at 13, the arch extending to a depending stopplate 14, located between the threshing-cylinder and the separating mechanism and spaced above the grate 9 to form a passageway.

The ends of the separator-screen are preferably provided with outstanding flanges 15, while end walls 16 extend from the arch 13 downwardly and are provided with circular openings 17, constituting the inlets from the separating mechanism to fan-casings located at the ends of the screen-bed. These fancasings are in the form of annular walls 1S, secured to the flanges 15 and walls 16 and also attached to the sidewalls of the casing 6 by brackets 19, being spaced from the side walls, however, as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3. The lower portions of the casing-walls 18 are downwardly and outwardly inclined and have, contiguous to their lower edges, longitudinally-disposed series of openings 20. The ends of each wall are spaced apart, as illustrated in Fig. 4, to form upwardly and yrearwardly extending dischargemouths 21.

Journaled transversely in the separatorcasing 6, extending over the screen-bed 10 and through the fan-casings, is a shaft 22, driven in any suitable manner vand having secured thereto oppositely-extending sets of arms or ngers. Said fingers comprise outstanding portions 23, the inner ends of which are overlapped and curved to embrace the shaft, being secured together by suitable bolts or other fastenings 24. The outstanding portions 23 carry at their outer free ends offset fingers 25, having their free ends disposed closer to the shaft than their inner or attached ends. It will be noted by reference to Figs. 1 and 3 that the rear perforate wall 11 of the grate 10 extends in rear of and above the horizontal plane of the top of the rotary separator, or, in other words, of the top of the paths of movement of the fingers. The fingers preferably taper toward their free ends and are inclined with'relation to the axis of the shaft, as shown. The free ends of ICO said openings to said casings. It is to be observed that, because of the peculiar relation of the fingers, said lingers have overlapping paths of movement.

'Fans located in the casings comprise headdisks 26, secured to the shaft 22 and having their lower portions slightly overlapping but spaced from the lower edges of the annular walls 18 of the casing, thereby leaving outlets 27 to permit the passage of grain from the casings. Tapering hubs 28, secured to the heads 26 and the shaft, extend into the inlet-openings 17, and radiating from said hubs are fan-blades 29, which are also secured to the inner sides of the head plates or 'disks 26. It will be observed by reference t'o Fig. 3 that the outer edges of the blades 29 are inclined to correspond to the inclinations of the lower walls of the fan-casings, while their inner ed es are cut away, as shown at 29a. The blad of the portions directly adjacent to the hubs, which portions extendl the full length of the hubs, as shown. Experience has demonstrated that this arrangement or structure eliminates thevdanger of material wrapping upon the shaft adjacent to the fans.

Arranged in rear of the separating mechanism just described is a straw-carrier, shown in the present instance as an upwardly and rearwardly inclined endless belt 30, the front end of which is preferably disposed in substantial alineinent with the lower end of the screen-bed 10. An upright deflector-plate 31 is located between the front ends of the straw-carrier and rear portion of the screen-bed 10 and its upward extension 1I. Arranged directly over the said' front end of the straw-carrier is a beater 32, that extends across the casing 6, the upper por- Y tion of this beater revolving rearwardly and being located in the paths of the blasts of air from the discharge-spouts of the fans. In rear of the beater 32 is another beater 33, that is located slightly above the same and spaced therefrom, leaving a passage-way 34. The beater 33 revolves in an opposite direction to the beater 32.

In operation material fed to the threshing mechanism will be thrown by the cylinder rearwardly up the grate 9 and against the arms of the separating mechanism. These arms revolving rapidly will thoroughly agitate the straw, causing a separation of the grain, which will pass downwardly through the screen-bed onto the usual conveyer disposed below the same. At the same time these arms or fingers will direct the material in opposite directions through the opening 17 into the fan-casing, and this movement will be assisted by the inrush of air caused by the fans. vThe straw striking the rapidlyrevolving fans will again be thoroughly agitated and opened, finally passing through es thus taper from their outer ends to their inner ends, with the exception the spouts 21. The grain which is freed from the straw in the casing by centrifugal and pneumatic force will pass down the inclined bottoms thereof and find free passages through the openings 20 and outlet-spaces 27. Consequently the fans act in the nature of supplemental separators. The straw passed through the spouts 21 will first be thrown against the lower beater 32 and thence over the same against the beater 33. These beaters will again loosen up the material and at the same time direct it onto the carrier 30, whence it will be transported through the separator-casing. It will thus be apparent that from the time the material strikes the threshing mechanism until itis past the straw-carrier it is thus kept continuously agitated and opened to permit the grain to escape therefrom; but this grain at all times has ample means of escape without being carried along with the straw. Consequently by the time the straw reaches the carrier there is practically no grain'left therein. Further than this, there is little danger of said grain becoming cracked or broken, for when it reaches the bottoms of the several screens over which it passes it is out of the way of the rapidly-revolving devices and is merely carried along by the passing straw until it reaches the openings through which it can pass. A further advantage resides in the efficiency with which the various elements will operate upon and pass along the straw. Each part will quickly dispose of the grain that is acted upon and will assist its movement toward' the next element, this continuous feeding therethrough obviating the danger of choking the separator or of overburdening the same.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In-a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of a separator located in rear of the threshing mechanism, a fan located at one end of the separator for carrying the material from the same and having a rearwardly-directed blast, straw-carrying mechanism disposed in rear of the separator, and a rotary beater having its journalaxis over the straw-carrying mechanism and below the line of the fan-blast, said beater giving its upper portion projecting into said ast.

2. In a grain-separator, the combination IOO TIO

ISO

with threshing mechanism, of a separator located in rear .of the threshing mechanism and including a rotary member, a fan-casing communicatin with the separator and having a rearward y-extending discharge-spout, a fan journaled in the casing, straw-carrying mechanism disposed in rear of the separator, and a rotary beater revolving in the same direction as the rotary member of the separator and having its j ournal-axis over the strawcarrying mechanism and below tne line of the fan -blast from the discharge spout, said beater having wings, the upper portion of the ath of movement of which intersects the last from the fan.

3. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of a concave screen-bed located in rear of the same, fancasings arranged at the ends of the screen-bed and having inlets above the same, a shaft extending longitudinally above the screen-bed and through the casings, fingers carried by the shaft and operating over the screen-bed, fans carried by the shaft and located in the casings, rearwardly extending dischargespouts constituting parts of the casings, and a rotary beater j ournaled in rear of the screen-bed and having its axis of rotation below the spouts, said beater having wings that move rearwardly through the blasts from the fans when in their upper positions.

4. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of separating 'means disposed in rear of the same, a strawcarrier, a fan for deliverin the material from the separating means, an spaced beaters interposed between the fan and the carrier and having portions located in the blast of said fan, forming between them a passage-way for directing the straw passing from said fan to the carrier.

5. In a grain-separator, the combination with a threshing-cylinder,of separating means located in rear of the same, a straw-carrier disposed in rear of the separating means, a fan for directing material from the separator to the straw-carrier, and upper and lower oppositely-revolving beaters disposed between the fan and carrier, said beaters having portions located in the blast of the fan and spaced apart to form a lpassage-way for the material delivered from the fan to direct the same to the carrier.

6. In a grain-separator, the combination with the separator casing, of threshing mechanism, separating means arranged transversely within the separator-casing in rear of the threshing mechanism, rearwardly discharging fans located at the ends of the separating means, a straw-carrier disposed in rear of the separating means, a beater located in rear of the separating means above the strawcarrier and below the discharge from the fans, and another beater located over the straw-carrier in rear of the first-mentioned beater and in the path of the discharge from the fans, said beaters revolving in opposite directions.

7. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of a transverselydisposed screen-bed located in rear of the same, fan-casings disposed at the ends of the bed and having inlets thereover, a shaft extending longitudinally over the bed, sets of fingers secured to the shaft and extending in lopposite directions toward the casings, and

an upstanding rear perforate' wall located in rear of the shaft and extending above the horizontal plane of said shaft'.

8. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of a transverselydisposed screen-bed located in rear of the same, fan-casings located at the ends of the bed and having inlets thereover, a shaft extending longitudinally over the bed, sets of fingers secured to the shaft and extending in opposite directions from the central portion thereof at a rearward inclination toward the fan-casing, said shaft and 'fingers constituting -a rotary agitator, and an upstanding rear perforate wall extending from the rear portion of the bed above the horizontal plane of the top of said agitator.

9. In a grain-separator, the combination with separating mechanism, of a stationary fan-casing coacting therewith and having an open side, and a fan operating in the casing and including a disk-head that extends across the open side of the casing and has its peripheral portion overlapping and spaced from the adjacent portion of said casing.

10. In a grain-separator, the combination with separating mechanism, of a fan-casing having an inlet opening communicating therewith, and afan operating in the casing IOO and having a plurality of radial plates, said plates having the sides which are located adjacent to the inlet-opening provided with intermediate tapering enlargements, and furthermore having hub-sections that taper toward their outer ends and toward the inlet-open- 1ng.

11. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of separating means, a fan-casing located at one end of the separating means and comprising side walls and a bottom, the bottom inclining downwardly from one side wall toward the other IIS and being provided with a grain-outlet in its lower portion, and a fan journaled in the casing.

12. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism, of separating means, a fan-casing comprising an annular wall having a discharge-outlet, a head constituting one wall of the casing and spaced from a portion of the annular wall, forming therebetween a grain-outlet, and rotatable fanblades operating in the casing.

13. In a grain-separator, the combination with threshing mechanism,l of separating means, a fanecasmg comprising an annular wall having a discharge-outlet, and a f an comprising a head constitutinor one wall of the casing and spaced from the annular wall, forming therebetween a grain-outlet, and blades secured to the head.

14. In a grain-separator, the combination with -threshing mechanism, of separating mechanism located in rear of the same, a fancasing communicating with the separating' means and comprising an annular wall the lower portion of which is downwardly inclined, and a fan located within the casing and comprising a head constituting the outer Y wall of said casing and spaced from the annuconcave, annular fan-casing walls connected with the ends of the screen-bed and having upwardly and rearwardly extending discharge spouts, 'a shaft extending over the screen-bed and passing through the fan-casing, oppositely-extendng iingers secured to the shaft and operating over the screen-bed, and heads secured to the shaft in spaced relation to the outer edges of the annular walls, fan-blades secured to the heads and having their outer ends inclined to conform to the inclination of the annular walls, a straw-carrier disposed in rear of the screen-bed, and coacting beaters located above the straw-carrier in rear of the fan.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afIiXed my signature in 4o the presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS IVI. LIVINGSTON.

Witnesses:

A. W. WESTLAKE, E. B. CooKRELL. 

